Is ABC "View" co-host Joy Behar so far out of the political mainstream that she has a skewed sense of what entails a "liberal" and a "conservative?" The same woman who called Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama "very moderate" on the February 7 show, John McCain has "been very conservative in all his policies." Apparently anyone who does not march lockstep with NARAL is an arch-conservative, as Behar explained that McCain is "so conservative because he’s against choice."
Very conservative in all of his policies? John McCain’s 2006 rating with the American Conservative Union was 65. While he certainly votes for the conservative position more often than not, he has far from a solid conservative record. The Club for Growth assailed McCain’s vote against the 2001 tax cuts and his class warfare reasoning for opposing it.
"I cannot in good conscience support a tax cut in which so many of the benefits go to the most fortunate among us at the expense of middle class Americans who need tax relief."
Whoopi Goldberg noted it was McCain’s support for immigration reform (McCain-Kennedy), which she erroneously confused with his campaign finance reform bill, McCain-Feingold.
Joy Behar continued with her Rush Limbaugh loves torture theme and claimed the right is "really furious" with McCain because "he’s against water boarding and torture." Whoopi Goldberg opined "I wonder if anybody did it to them, how they would feel." Response: I wonder if someone was withholding information that could cost the lives of Whoopi's loved ones, how she would feel.
The transcript of the exchange is below.
HASSELBECK: That’s why I like John McCain because he’s gone away from his party sometimes. He hasn’t always voted the way his party wants him to. You know, he’s gone away from the Republican maybe calling to vote yes or no on certain things because he really believes certain, in certain ways to make this country better financially and in terms of national security.
BEHAR: He’s been very conservative in all of his policies. I don’t know what their gripe is,. What do they want from him?
GOLDBERG: They don’t like the fact that he-
BEHAR: He’s so conservative because he’s against choice.
HASSELBECK: How can you say because is he more conservative than Huckabee?
BEHAR: I don’t know.
HASSELBECK: And why do we keep saying conservative? We don’t keep saying liberal about Hillary.
GOLDBERG: Well, the reason- I want to tell you the reason that they are upset with him. Because he and I can’t remember the other Senator, please forgive me.
BEHAR: Romney?
GOLDBERG: No, no, no. McCain and-
BEHAR: Feingold, Feingold.
GOLDBERG: Feingold.-thank you- put together what I thought was a really smart way to deal with illegal immigration and everybody lost their mind.
BEHAR: Do you remember what they said?
GOLDBERG: They said, "you know what? Maybe we really need to start a talk about granting some sort of, you know-because we’re not going to find everybody. We can’t find the terrorists!"
BEHAR: So they call that amnesty.
GOLDBERG: I want to find the illegal people.
BEHAR: They call that amnesty, that’s-
GOLDBERG: Yes, but the truth of the matter is, if you can’t find the folks, whatever wall you build, whatever you do is not going to mean a damn thing. You know, so I think he is, to me I liked that.
BEHAR: That’s exactly why Rush Limbaugh hates him.
GOLDBERG: Yes, better for me.
BEHAR: Also, he’s against water boarding and torture, which they’re really furious with him about that.
GOLDBERG: Well, I wonder if anybody did it to them, how they would feel.
As reported on Wednesday, Chelsea Clinton called "The View" co-hosts on behalf of her mother, Hillary. The co-hosts noted the former first daughter passed over token non-liberal Elisabeth Hasselbeck. On Thursday morning, Chelsea called Hasselbeck to appeal for Senator Clinton’s vote. Hasselbeck said "I would love to have a woman in the White House if she wouldn’t mind tweaking her policies." Is the Clinton campaign trying to get its message out through "The View?" Are they attempting a unanimous pro-Hillary panel?
The transcript of the conversation is below.
WHOOPI GOLDBERG: Did you get a phone call?
ELISABETH HASSELBECK: I did get a phone call.
SHERRI SHEPHERD: From who?
HASSELBECK: Chelsea Clinton this morning.
SHEPHERD: Oh!
HASSELBECK: I did. I did. She gave me a call around 7:15 in the morning and I had Taylor on me and was trying to, you know, get everything together for work, and, so I missed her call. But she left me a really nice message and she said that she was traveling with her mom today. She was on her way and wanted to speak with me about Hillary’s campaign if I had any questions. Yes, yeah I’m definitely borderline.
JOY BEHAR: Borderline? No, over the line.
HASSELBECK: Yeah , right. I would, this way we can talk and maybe I would consider lending my support to her mom, eventually down the road, which I would be totally happy to support Hillary Clinton. I mean, I would love to have a woman in the White House if she wouldn’t mind tweaking some of her policies. I think that would only be fair, right?
GOLDBERG: I think that’s fair to ask.
HASSELBECK: So we, I actually gave her a call back, left her voicemail, and we’re going to plan to talk sometime this week, which I think would be great.
